Egypt’s Mubarak on life support amid crisisCAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was on life support after suffering a stroke in prison Tuesday, deepening the country’s uncertainty just as a potentially explosive fight opened over who will succeed him. The 84-year-old Mubarak suffered a “fast deterioration of his health” and his heart stopped beating, the state news agency MENA and security officials said. He was revived by defibrillation but then had a stroke and was moved from Torah Pri...

Obama confident Europeans will resolve debt crisisLOS CABOS, Mexico (AP) — President Barack Obama voiced confidence Tuesday in Europe’s ability to “break the fever” of its raging debt crisis as he sought to calm both global financial markets and the election-year worries of voters at home. Obama, speaking at the close of the Group of 20 economic summit, said Europe’s leaders showed a “heightened sense of urgency” during two days of talks in this Mexican resort. The president maintained that E...

WikiLeaks founder seeks asylum at Ecuador embassyLONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange has made a run for the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, seeking asylum in a long shot move that, if successful, would place him in a small, friendly South American country rather than in Sweden facing questioning about alleged sex crimes. Tuesday’s unexpected caper has added a new and bizarre twist to Assange’s increasingly desperate bid to avoid extradition to Scandinavia. Ecuadorean Foreign Minister ...

25 dead in Nigeria after multiple attacks by sectMAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — A radical Islamist sect unleashed multiple attacks in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 25 people, authorities said Tuesday as fears swelled about the government’s inability to corral rising sectarian violence. The attacks worsened an already tense security situation in Nigeria, a West African nation of more than 160 million people almost evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. The Boko Haram sect began it...

Chinese spacecraft docks with orbiting moduleBEIJING (AP) — A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts docked with an orbiting module Monday, another first for the country as it strives to match American and Russian exploits in space. The Shenzhou 9 capsule completed the maneuver with the Tiangong 1 module shortly after 2 p.m. (0600 GMT), 343 kilometers (213 miles) above Earth. The docking was shown live on national television. Astronauts will live and work in the module for several ...

Tasty loot in Spain as crisis spawns crop theftSANT CLIMENT DE LLOBREGAT, Spain (AP) — Drop those cherries, you’re under arrest. Crops and cops are converging along Spain’s journey through economic crisis: People enduring hardship are stealing the earth’s bounty from farmers to help get by from day to day. Police have added the patrolling of farmland — sometimes on horseback — to their list of daily tasks. Farmers in some areas are teaming up to carry out nighttime patrols on their own. In...

World leaders weigh stimulus vs. austerity at G-20LOS CABOS, Mexico (AP) — With major European economies on the brink of collapse, world leaders concluding an annual Group of 20 meeting were left Tuesday with two different paths to ease the financial crisis: Spend more to try to stimulate growth or slash budgets in a bid to restore investor confidence. For months, that dilemma has loomed over governments and economists as they struggled to put out a debt-fueled economic wildfire that has thre...

China sends first woman into spaceJIUQUAN, China (AP) — China launched its most ambitious space mission yet on Saturday, carrying its first female astronaut and two male colleagues in an attempt to dock with an orbiting module and work on board for more than a week. The Shenzhou 9 capsule lifted off as scheduled at 6:37 p.m. (1037 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert. All systems functioned normally and, just over 10 minutes later, it op...

Egypt votes for president to succeed MubarakCAIRO (AP) — Egyptians on Saturday voted to choose between a conservative Islamist and Hosni Mubarak’s ex-prime minister in a presidential runoff once billed as the country’s long-awaited shift to democracy but now clouded by pessimism over the future. Whoever wins after two days of voting, Egypt’s military rulers will remain ultimately at the helm, a sign of how Egypt’s revolution has gone astray 16 months after millions forced the authoritar...

Carlotta kills 2, weakens to tropical depressionACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Carlotta was downgraded to a tropical depression on Saturday as the system rapidly weakened after killing two young sisters in its march across southern Mexico. The National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that the government of Mexico had discontinued all watches and warnings for Carlotta, which reached hurricane strength on Friday. Earlier Saturday, the Miami center discontinued the ...

UN observers in Syria suspend patrolsBEIRUT (AP) — U.N. observers suspended their patrols in Syria on Saturday due to a recent spike in violence, the strongest sign yet that an international peace plan was unraveling despite months of diplomatic efforts to prevent the country from plunging into civil war. The U.N. observers have been the only working part of a peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan, which the international community sees as its only hope to stop th...

Wallenda exuberant after wire walk across FallsNIAGARA FALLS, Ontario (AP) — Daredevil Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk on a tightrope across the Niagara Falls, taking steady, measured steps Friday night for 1,800 feet across the mist-fogged brink of the roaring falls separating the U.S. and Canada. “I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now,” an exuberant Wallenda told reporters after accomplishing what he said was his childhood dream before an estimated 112,000 people crowding ...

Mexican president expects big IMF firewall boostLOS CABOS, Mexico (AP) — G20 summit host President Felipe Calderon of Mexico said Saturday that he expects the world’s largest economies to deliver more than the $430 billion pledged to stop the spread of the European financial crisis. Calderon told a small group of reporters that he expects “there to be capitalization that’s bigger” than the amount fund members promised in April. He called International Monetary Fund recapitalization one of t...

Greeks to vote with a global audienceATHENS, Greece (AP) — Elections are supposed to determine the will of the people, to set a nation on a new course with a government that enjoys the mandate of the majority. In splintered Greece, the vote on Sunday is shaping up as a challenge to this time-honored rule of democracy. For Greeks are in a collective state of depression, burdened not just by the shriveling of their finances, but also political divisions with deep roots in history a...

Affairs of politics and heart mark French electionPARIS (AP) — Back-room deals, black lists and bitter duels. Political and personal intrigue has wormed its way into Sunday’s final round of French legislative elections. President Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party is battling to ensure a solid majority and fulfill his vows to boost growth in Europe and redefine the French presidency as one beholden to the people. Barring surprises, the Socialists and their allies should win enough seats to c...

Cuba’s next step on capitalist road: advertisingHAVANA (AP) — For decades there’s been no such thing as a commercial radio or TV spot in Cuba. Ditto for billboards, website banner ads, and newspaper classifieds. It can be a refreshing change from the global marketing onslaught, but the lack of traditional advertising opportunities creates a problem for the thousands of budding entrepreneurs who have embraced President Raul Castro’s push for limited free-market reform. It’s one thing to open...

Saudi heir’s death opens door to younger voicesRIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — For the second time in less than a year, Saudi Arabia was thrown into the process of naming a new heir to the country’s 88-year-old king following the death Saturday of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz. That forces a potentially pivotal decision: Whether to bring a younger generation a step closer to ruling one of the West’s most critical Middle East allies. King Abdullah has now outlived two designated successors,...

Japan OKs restart of 1st reactors since tsunamiTOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government on Saturday approved bringing the country’s first nuclear reactors back online since last year’s earthquake and tsunami led to a nationwide shutdown, going against wider public opinion that is opposed to nuclear power after Fukushima. The decision paves the way for a power company in western Japan to immediately begin work to restart two reactors in Ohi town, a process that is expected to take several weeks. Des...

Stage collapses before Radiohead concert; 1 deadTORONTO (AP) — A massive stage collapse hours before a Radiohead concert was to begin Saturday left one person dead and three others injured, officials said. Emergency Medical Services deputy commander David Viljakainen said a man who was trapped under the rubble was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said he was in his mid-30s. A 45-year-old man was hospitalized with a head injury and two others were treated at the scene for minor injuri...

Hurricane Carlotta nears resorts on Mexican coastMEXICO CITY (AP) — Carlotta grew into a powerful Category 2 hurricane on Friday as it neared Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, where it is expected to brush the resort town of Puerto Escondido and then lash Acapulco. Authorities opened emergency shelters and tourists began leaving Puerto Escondido, a laid-back port popular with surfers. Hotel owners gathered up furniture and other potential flying objects in preparation for the hurricane, which...